Numerous garment hangers have been devised which have shoulder supporting arms that hold the front and back of the garment in a separated condition. This insures air circulation in the interior of the garment which reduces the likelihood of mold forming. For many types of garments no special attention needs to be given to the garment neck and collar in order for the garment hanger to be effective in drying the garment, and as a result, most prior art garment hangers give little attention to support of the neck and collar of the garment.
Various garment hangers and garment drying devices have also been devised in which hot air is forced down through a neck portion of the hanger into the interior of the hanger. Thus a positive pressure differential is created by a blower, and heated or unheated air is forced down through the interior of the garment as it is distended by the shoulder supporting portions or arms of the hanger. This is effective in drying garments, but it is also often is accomplished at the expense of great complexity and increased cost of the garment hanger. Thus, garment hangers which are augmented by power drying devices often are so expensive as to make their use as a mere storage device for the garment prohibitive.
In recent years one form of garment which is in widespread use has posed significant washing and drying, as well as storage, problems, namely, the wetsuit. Wetsuits typically are formed from neoprene foam material which can vary in thickness from 1 mm to 5 mm, or even more, and they usually include a collar or neck portion, which extends upwardly of the shoulders of the suit by a significant distance, as well as a downwardly depending shirt portion that covers the user's torso. Wetsuits often further cover the user's legs but usually stop short of the feet, which are covered by separate neoprene booties.
When a wetsuit is placed on most hangers, and particularly a neck-entry wetsuit, the neck or collar typically will drape or fold inwardly and at least partially close the neck opening because of the flexible nature of the foam. Wetsuits are often used in salt water, and even when not used in salt water, they resiliently conform tightly to the user's body, making washing and/or rinsing of the wetsuit interior, as well as exterior, after use highly desirable. The neoprene foam of a wetsuit also will tend to hold water which can cause the opposite sides of the wetsuit to drape together, preventing air circulation inside the wetsuit.
According, it is an object of the present invention to provide a garment hanger and method for drying a garment which are highly effective for unpowered, convection air circulation inside the garment to effect garment drying.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a garment hanger for washing, drying and storing garments, such as wetsuits, life jackets and outdoor clothing, which has a minimum number of components and is easy and inexpensive to manufacture.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a garment hanger and method which facilitate washing (rinsing) of the interior of a garment before drying.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a garment hanger which is easy to use, is durable and corrosion resistant, is suitable for hanging a wide range of garments.
The garment hanger and process of the present invention have other objects and features of advantage which will apparent from, and set forth in more detail in, the accompanying drawings and following description of the Best Mode of Carrying Out the Invention.